


Rainbow

by theasexualhedgehog



Series: Rhody Tales [3]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Falcs support Jack, Happy Ending, Homophobia, M/M, Minor Swearing, SMH supports Jack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-17
Updated: 2017-05-17
Packaged: 2018-11-01 22:14:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10931088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theasexualhedgehog/pseuds/theasexualhedgehog
Summary: Jack accidentally outs himself, and has to deal with the fallout. But SMH and the Falconers won't let him face it alone.





	Rainbow

Jack didn’t mean to out himself. It was after a particularly tough game, 3 periods of regular play, overtime, and 2 rounds of shootout. Marty had gotten the game winning goal, and Jack was thankful he could finally get out of his sweaty hockey gear and into the shower. Bitty was visiting from Samwell, and was going to meet Jack at his apartment. Jack was lost in thought he left the Dunk, thinking about the wonderful dinner him and Bitty were going to have, and the quality time they were going to enjoy. He wasn’t expecting a camera shoved into his face when he left the player’s entrance.

“Jack, how do you think the Falconers played today?” The reporter, clearly from out of town, asked him.

“Uh, we played well, the Rangers are a tough team to beat. We’re all really proud of Marty for his shootout goal.” Jack responded, trying to push past the reporter and his camera man. 

“Do you think today’s performance is indicative of how the Falconers will play in the playoffs?” The reporter stood his ground. Normally calm, Jack grew frustrated. He was practically dead on his feet, he had precious little time with Bitty, and this reporter wanted him to talk about playoffs? It was October, for goodness sake! The season had just started!

“I think that I want to be at home with my boyfriend.” Jack shoved past the reporter, who had frozen in shock. It took Jack a moment to realize what he said. He stopped in the lobby of his apartment complex and quickly dialled Georgia’s number. 

“Georgia? It’s Jack Zimmermann. I might’ve screwed up…”

Jack lay on his couch, head on Bitty’s lap. 

“It’s going to be ok, honey,” Bitty ran his fingers through Jack’s hair. “Georgia will get it sorted out.” Jack grunted, eyes closed. Possibilities ran through his head, ranging from his comment getting no coverage and the rest of the team not finding out, to the entire world knowing he, Jack Zimmermann, was an openly gay athlete in a generally homophobic sport. The two sat together, Jack worrying, Bitty talking about some recipes his mother sent him that he was going to try on his vlog. Both froze when Jack’s cell phone rang. It was Georgia.

“Hello?” Jack said nervously, the phone on speaker so Bitty could hear what was going on.

“Jack? It’s Georgia. I’ve got…. News.” Jack gulped, anxiety levels skyrocketing.

“What’s going on?” Dread gathered in his stomach.   
“The reporter is going to air your comments. He said it’s his First Amendment right. The team lawyers are looking into it, but if he can air that part, we need to have a plan.” Jack felt like his worst fears had been realized. He closed his eyes, trying to gather courage. 

“I’ll stand by you, no matter what.” Bitty whispered. Jack nodded, smiling at his boyfriend.

“What’s the plan, Georgia?”

Both Jack and Bitty thought the best place for Jack to watch the press conference was from the Haus, one of the places Jack loved. Shitty came down from Harvard, and the SMH took the afternoon off their classes to support Jack. Jack, Shitty, Ransom, and Holster squished together on the couch. Lardo and Chowder were sprawled on the floor, working on homework at the same time as keeping an eye on the news. Dex was on his laptop, ready and willing to fight anyone online who wanted to shit-talk Jack. Nursey was in the kitchen with Bitty, finishing up baking cookies for everyone. Finally, the press conference came on. Jack watched himself come out to the world, explain that he was happily dating someone, and that, although his remarks to the reporter were made out of exhaustion and anger, he doesn’t regret them. Which was partially true, Jack thought to himself. He didn’t exactly regret coming out, but he did wish it had been a little more on his terms. 

“Dude, you’re trending already,” Dex commented from the floor. The press conference was over, a group of analysts were talking about Jack. His phone buzzed, Georgia was calling.

“Gotta take this,” Jack said, holding up the phone. 

 

Jack came up the right side of the rink, skates digging into the ice to give him more speed. He turned along the boards, looping around the net, turning at the last moment to shoot. The puck whizzed into the upper left corner, stretching the netting from the force of impact. Jack skated back to center ice, where dozens of pucks waited. He picked out another puck, this time skating up the middle of the ice and taking a slap shot.

“You know, Chowder won’t be too happy if you break his net.” Jack turned to the Samwell bench, seeing Shitty sitting there by himself. Jack skated over.

“What’re you doing here?”

“Just checking in, bro.” Jack shook his head.

“I’m fine Shitty.” 

Shitty snorted.

“How long have we known each other, Jack? I know when you aren’t entirely ok.” 

Jack sighed. 

“Fine. You’re right.” Jack looked down at the ice. “I’m worried I made the wrong choice.”

“That’s valid. I mean, we both know hockey isn’t exactly the most welcoming sport all the time. Never mind the homophobia from the fans.” Shitty reached for Jack. “But you’ve got a great support system in place, Jack. You’ve got me, Bits, your family, the team. Dex said a lot of pro players have tweeted in support of you, especially Falconers players. You aren’t alone in all this.” 

 

Jack walked to the Dunk, getting into his gameday mindset. He almost didn’t notice the protesters…. Almost. He could hear them yelling, but did his best to tune them out. Georgia had arranged for Providence Police to provide extra security today, specifically for this reason. He kept his head down, trying to get to the safety of the doors as quickly as he could. A glass bottle hit the wall in front of him, shards flying at his face. Jack flinched away, the glass missing his face and hitting his raised arm instead. Someone had broken past the security barrier and was yelling things at him, slurs and insults. Jack froze in fear. Time seemed to stop. Tater came flying out of nowhere, yelling at the attacker in a mix of Russian and English. Security rushed Jack into the Dunk, while a couple police officers and Thirdy and Snowy tried to restrain Tater from ripping the attacker apart. 

“You alright?” Georgia asked Jack when he got into the stadium. 

“Yeah, fine,” Jack said, clearly shaken. His phone buzzed, Bitty was calling. He stepped away from Georgia to answer.

“I’m fine, honey,” Jack said. He could picture the look Bitty had, a mixture of anger and concern for his boyfriend. “And I promise not to leave without making sure the protesters have left already.” The two talked for a few more moments before Jack had to go.

The locker room was another hurdle for Jack. Marty was the only one on the team who had known Jack was gay before he came out to everyone. On one hand, Jack knew the team was very supportive, and just judging by their reactions on Twitter and Tater almost mauling a guy this morning, he knew they’d be ok. Anxiety, though, tried to trick him into thinking the team would hate him. But the logical part of Jack was right, and he received more hugs and hair ruffles that day than any other time before.

The next day, protesters waited outside the Dunk again, but this time, a line of fans, all in Falconers gear, stood in front of the protesters, creating a wall. Jack had never appreciated fans more than in that moment.

After awhile, things died down. Eventually, protesters stopped showing up to games. The talk died down, and Jack was having a fantastic season. 

“Uhh, Mr. Zimmermann?” Jack almost dropped the box of cereal he was holding. No one called him ‘Mr. Zimmermann’. He turned to see a young teenager, maybe 15, standing behind him.

“Just Jack,” Jack said, smiling at the teenager. The teen smiled back.

“Uh, Jack. My name’s Riley. I just wanted to tell you, you coming out really helped me a lot. I was able to tell my parents and my team that I’m gay.” Riley smiled up at Jack, in awe he was meeting his hero. Jack did a double take when he saw the shirt Riley was wearing. It was his jersey, but the number and words were done in rainbow colors. 

“I’m glad I could help you, Riley.” Pride swelled in Jack. This was the kind of thing he wanted, to help kids be themselves. 

“Um, do you mind if we take a picture together?” Riley asked. Jack shook his head.

“It would be my honor, Riley.”

A few months later, at Falconers Pride Night, Jack wore a jersey with rainbow lettering, the team wore jerseys with rainbow hearts, and Riley did the ceremonial puck drop at Jack’s insistence. The whole team signed a puck for Riley, but Jack signed one special for the boy, thanking him for reminding Jack about why he was out.

Jack’s phone rang, breaking him out of his focus. 

“Hello?” Jack answered the phone.

“Any reason why you haven’t been up to visit recently?” Adrien said over the line.

“I, uh,” Jack stammered.

“Look if this is about you coming out, you should know we all support you. Irene wants you to bring your boyfriend up sometime so they can exchange recipes.” The last reservations Jack had about being out disappeared.

“Thank you,” he finally said. “I know Eric would love to exchange recipes with Irene.”

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to Tumblr. Part 3 of 4.


End file.
